AGRICULTURAL INDUSTRIES. 



211 



a greyish white. A row of beautiful blue spots on each side marks 

 its breathing places or tracheae. Silky grey-white hairs a centi- 

 meter long cover its surface, and in connection with the light 

 colour of the insect itself, make it resemble the catkins of the tree 

 which furnishes its food. 



The Chestnut spinner does not weave a perfectly closed cocoon, 

 but a rather coarse net-like web of brown colour, whose thread is 

 hard to unwind and can only be used as woof in coarse fabrics. It 

 seems that in earlier times the worms, when ready to spin, were 

 used more often than nowadays for the so-called Tengusu (Silk- 

 worm guts) ; it was laid in vinegar, the spinning-glands opened care- 

 fully, and the silk drawn out in threads several feet long. But now as 

 a finer and much cheaper material for this purpose comes from China, 

 even Japanese anglers give it the preference. (See note, p. 196). 



5. Forestry. 



Relation of Japanese Forests {Hayashi) to Cultivation in general and 

 to Waste Land. — Distinction between Cultivated and Natural or 

 Mountain Forests. — Character ^ Extent and Value of both. — In- 

 fluence upon Climate, 



According to a previous summary of the land economy and 

 classification of Old Japan (pp. 11 and 12), which was founded upon 

 official statistics of the year 1879, of the entire area, amounting to 

 28,356,945 cho, 17,356,945 cho consisted of mountain forests and 

 desert land without cultivation, and 5,240,570 cho of cultivated 

 forests. Recently, however, the section now under consideration, 

 between Tsugaru and Colnet Straits, has been reckoned as much 

 larger, viz., at 28,842,011 cho, as is given in the report of the 

 Japanese section of the Forestry Exhibition in Edinburgh, 1884. 

 The entire amount of woodland is estimated in this publication ^t 

 1 1,866,625 cho, of which 5,259,182 cho is government, and 6,607,443 

 cho private, property. 



The distribution of both classes of forest in the three principal 

 islands and their smaller dependencies is shown in the following 

 table : 



